Features

Small scale, unsubsidised, borne along on a wave of bookish enthusiasm, the ‘Writing Worth Reading’ cluster of 12 events at the Royal Scots Club can hardly be described as a competitor to the big literary beast which, not long past, was licking its wounds in a venue oddly described as th

The vaults of the Antwerp Diamond Centre were thought to be impregnable until, on February 15, 2003, a gang of professional thieves made off with a haul of diamonds worth over £100 million – none have ever been recovered. Patient planning and stunning ingenuity allowed the gang to loot h

When Jamila Archibald was named the Law Society of Scotland’s In-House Rising Star earlier this year, then-president Susan Murray was glowing in her endorsement. Ms Archibald had, she said, impressed the judges not just with her ability to “deal with cross-jurisdictional legal queries wh

AI has become a topic that some people in business simply do not want to talk about, do not want to read about, and don’t really want to understand until it all feels like it has “settled down” a bit. For that reason, the ongoing legal action from Disney and Universal against AI pl

With the Scottish government’s Housing Bill moving through Holyrood, one question keeps coming up in conversations with landlords: is it still worth it? Nicky Lloyd, head of lettings at ESPC, considers the bill. The private rented sector in Scotland has always played a vital role in providing

An assassination is pre-eminently a political murder; a killing, in itself a crime, has been sanctioned by someone with an interest in the outcome and carried out on their behalf. The traditional British political response to an assassination was to narrow the extent of an apparently preceding consp

UK hospitality businesses could be unwittingly landed in hot water by guests when the Employment Rights Bill comes into force next year, writes Robin Turnbull. Most employers are aware of the ‘headline’ provisions of the bill, like rights to claim unfair dismissal from day one and guaran

Brian Inkster discusses the continued failure to implement alternative business structures in Scotland. Alternative business structures (ABS) in Scotland being kicked into the long grass was a possibility raised yesterday. This was at an online event organised by the Law Society of Scotland: 'Policy

As the use of Botox in online hacks and challenges grows, Derek Couper warns people to be sure of exactly what they’re getting into – and the dangers of not doing so While Botox has been increasing in its use for some time among image conscious people who want to look their best, the inf

Scotland is set to be the first UK nation to introduce detailed regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, write Duncan Batchelor and Claire Raftery. In May, the Scottish government announced plans to introduce a non-surgical cosmetic procedures bill during the current session of the Scottish P

Millions of people involved in running UK businesses will be required to verify their identity with Companies House from the middle of November, writes Gary Gray. The identity verification requirements form part of a suite of strengthened corporate governance and transparency measures being implemen

Scotland has never quite had an artist like John Bellany, and probably never will again. Correction: delete ‘probably’. His work has had a force and an impact which few of his generation could replicate, and he was so doggedly sui generis that we must hesitate to classify him as simply S

Allan Pinkerton (born Glasgow 1819 – died Chicago 1884) has a complex legacy. Some recall with pride that the Scot was the founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. In short, Pinkerton pioneered the enforcement of law and order on the American frontier, upheld principles of gender eq

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, aimed at reforming the law relating to 'large landholdings' and leases of rural land, has progressed to its final stage in the Scottish Parliament, following significant amendments during the stage two process, writes Rona Macdonald. Over 500 amendments were submitte

Dear Editor, Sheriff Principal Abercrombie’s review of the fatal accident system is to be welcomed. In my view, there are aspects of the system which cry out for such a review. The main problem, as I see it, is delay for which, sometimes, there is no explanation.